About 10.4 million Filipinos suffer from illiteracy and low literacy, according to the latest survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) found that nine out of 10 Filipinos aged five and over had basic literacy.
“This translates to approximately 93.07 million individuals aged five years and over who can read, write and compute out of the estimated 103.46 million individuals in the same age group,” the PSA said.
Basic literacy is defined as the ability to read and write a simple message in any language or dialect with understanding, and to perform basic mathematical operations. Functional literacy encompasses the ability to read, write, compute, and comprehend.
Central Luzon (Region III) recorded the highest basic literacy rate at 92.8 percent, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) had the lowest at 81.0 percent.
Basic literacy was higher for females at 90.9 percent, compared to males at 89.0 percent. Individuals aged 20 to 24 had the highest basic literacy rate at 96.1 percent, while those aged 60 and over reported the lowest at 76.2 percent.
About 6.9 percent, or roughly seven out of 100 individuals aged five and over, were classified as illiterate. BARMM had the highest proportion of illiterate individuals at 14.4 percent.
The functional literacy rate in 2024 was 70.8 percent, meaning about 60.17 million out of an estimated 85 million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 could read, write, compute, and comprehend.
The Cordillera Administrative Region had the highest functional literacy rate at 81.2 percent, while Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) had the lowest at 59.3 percent.
Females had a higher functional literacy rate at 74.1 percent, compared to males at 67.6 percent. Individuals aged 20 to 24 recorded the highest functional literacy rate at 78.2 percent, while those aged 60 to 64 had the lowest at 57.8 percent.
The gap between basic and functional literacy was widest among those aged 60 to 64, indicating comprehension difficulties for roughly one in three who could read, write and compute.